Silver slides Rs 3,400 to Rs 2.68 lakh/kg, gold stays flat on strong dollar

New Delhi: Silver prices declined by Rs 3,400 to Rs 2.68 lakh per kilogram, and gold traded almost flat at Rs 1,64,300 per 10 grams in the national capital on Monday as a firm US dollar dampened the precious metals' demand amid volatile global markets.

According to the All India Sarafa Association, the white metal extended its losses for the third straight day by plunging Rs 3,400, or nearly 1.3 per cent, to Rs 2,68,300 per kg (inclusive of all taxes) from Friday's closing level of Rs 2,71,700 per kg.

"Silver extended last week's decline as a sharp rise in crude oil prices raised concerns that inflationary pressures could intensify again," Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst, Commodities at HDFC Securities.

Higher energy prices tend to feed into broader inflation expectations, which may delay the pace of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. This scenario supported the US dollar and Treasury yields, which in turn weighed on precious metals, he added.

Meanwhile, gold of 99.9 per cent purity rose marginally by Rs 200 to Rs 1,64,300 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes). The yellow metal had settled at Rs 1,64,100 per 10 grams in the previous market session, as per the Association.

Globally, spot gold fell USD 65.23, or 1.26 per cent, to trade at USD 5,105.89 per ounce, while silver was also trading 0.53 per cent lower at USD 83.92 per ounce.

"Gold is trading lower at USD 5,097 per ounce level as crude oil prices surged nearly 30 per cent overnight on Middle East supply concerns," Praveen Singh, Head of commodities and currencies at Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said.

Kaynat Chainwala, AVP Commodity Research, Kotak Securities, said that forced liquidations to meet margin calls during the broader market sell-off have also pressured bullion prices since tensions escalated sharply last week.

Investors will now monitor key US macroeconomic indicators such as CPI, Core PCE Price Index, Prelim GDP, and JOLTS job openings, for further cues on the Fed's policy trajectory, while geopolitical developments in West Asia are expected to continue influencing market sentiment, she added.